Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism
Abstract Arctic seals, including spotted (Phoca largha), ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warmin...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa112 http://academic.oup.com/conphys/article-pdf/9/1/coaa112/36356323/coaa112.pdf |
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/conphys/coaa112 2024-06-23T07:50:01+00:00 Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David A S Reichmuth, Colleen Cooke, Steven National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Pinnipeds Program 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa112 http://academic.oup.com/conphys/article-pdf/9/1/coaa112/36356323/coaa112.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Conservation Physiology volume 9, issue 1 ISSN 2051-1434 journal-article 2021 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa112 2024-06-04T06:14:40Z Abstract Arctic seals, including spotted (Phoca largha), ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warming will inevitably alter the routine behavior and overall energy budgets of Arctic seals, but it is difficult to quantify these impacts as their metabolic requirements are not well known—due in part to the difficulty of studying wild individuals. Thus, data pertaining to species-specific energy demands are urgently needed to better understand the physiological consequences of rapid environmental change. We used open-flow respirometry over a four-year period to track fine-scale, longitudinal changes in the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of four spotted seals, three ringed seals and one bearded seal trained to participate in research. Simultaneously, we collected complementary physiological and environmental data. Species-specific metabolic demands followed expected patterns based on body size, with the largest species, the bearded seal, exhibiting the highest absolute RMR (0.48 ± 0.04 L O2 min−1) and the lowest mass-specific RMR (4.10 ± 0.47 ml O2 min−1 kg−1), followed by spotted (absolute: 0.33 ± 0.07 L O2 min−1; mass-specific: 6.13 ± 0.73 ml O2 min−1 kg−1) and ringed (absolute: 0.20 ± 0.04 L O2 min−1; mass-specific: 7.01 ± 1.38 ml O2 min−1 kg−1) seals. Further, we observed clear and consistent annual patterns in RMR that related to the distinct molting strategies of each species. For species that molted over relatively short intervals—spotted (33 ± 4 days) and ringed (28 ± 6 days) seals—metabolic demands increased markedly in association with molt. In contrast, the bearded seal exhibited a prolonged molting strategy (119 ± 2 days), which appeared to limit the overall cost of molting as indicated by a relatively stable annual RMR. These findings highlight energetic trade-offs associated with different molting strategies ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic bearded seal Erignathus barbatus Pusa hispida Sea ice Oxford University Press Arctic Conservation Physiology 9 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Oxford University Press |
op_collection_id |
croxfordunivpr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Arctic seals, including spotted (Phoca largha), ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded (Erignathus barbatus) seals, are directly affected by sea ice loss. These species use sea ice as a haul-out substrate for various critical functions, including their annual molt. Continued environmental warming will inevitably alter the routine behavior and overall energy budgets of Arctic seals, but it is difficult to quantify these impacts as their metabolic requirements are not well known—due in part to the difficulty of studying wild individuals. Thus, data pertaining to species-specific energy demands are urgently needed to better understand the physiological consequences of rapid environmental change. We used open-flow respirometry over a four-year period to track fine-scale, longitudinal changes in the resting metabolic rate (RMR) of four spotted seals, three ringed seals and one bearded seal trained to participate in research. Simultaneously, we collected complementary physiological and environmental data. Species-specific metabolic demands followed expected patterns based on body size, with the largest species, the bearded seal, exhibiting the highest absolute RMR (0.48 ± 0.04 L O2 min−1) and the lowest mass-specific RMR (4.10 ± 0.47 ml O2 min−1 kg−1), followed by spotted (absolute: 0.33 ± 0.07 L O2 min−1; mass-specific: 6.13 ± 0.73 ml O2 min−1 kg−1) and ringed (absolute: 0.20 ± 0.04 L O2 min−1; mass-specific: 7.01 ± 1.38 ml O2 min−1 kg−1) seals. Further, we observed clear and consistent annual patterns in RMR that related to the distinct molting strategies of each species. For species that molted over relatively short intervals—spotted (33 ± 4 days) and ringed (28 ± 6 days) seals—metabolic demands increased markedly in association with molt. In contrast, the bearded seal exhibited a prolonged molting strategy (119 ± 2 days), which appeared to limit the overall cost of molting as indicated by a relatively stable annual RMR. These findings highlight energetic trade-offs associated with different molting strategies ... |
author2 |
Cooke, Steven National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Pinnipeds Program |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David A S Reichmuth, Colleen |
spellingShingle |
Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David A S Reichmuth, Colleen Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
author_facet |
Thometz, Nicole M Hermann-Sorensen, Holly Russell, Brandon Rosen, David A S Reichmuth, Colleen |
author_sort |
Thometz, Nicole M |
title |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_short |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_full |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_fullStr |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_full_unstemmed |
Molting strategies of Arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
title_sort |
molting strategies of arctic seals drive annual patterns in metabolism |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa112 http://academic.oup.com/conphys/article-pdf/9/1/coaa112/36356323/coaa112.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic bearded seal Erignathus barbatus Pusa hispida Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic bearded seal Erignathus barbatus Pusa hispida Sea ice |
op_source |
Conservation Physiology volume 9, issue 1 ISSN 2051-1434 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaa112 |
container_title |
Conservation Physiology |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1802640772232642560 |